Italy has threatened to close its ports to migrants rescued from the Mediterranean, saying that rising numbers have left its reception centres crammed.
The warning comes amid an influx of thousands taking advantage of calm seas to sail from Libya to Europe. Between Sunday and Wednesday, rescuers picked up 10,850 migrants from 74 packed dinghies and flimsy wooden boats and took them to Italian ports.
Some 73,380 migrants have been taken to Italy so far this year, up 14 per cent year on year, as traffickers exploit anarchy in Libya to run a multimillion-pound smuggling operation. Italy’s EU ambassador, Maurizio Massari, warned the union’s migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos that Italy may close its ports to charity rescue boats not flying the Italian flag, including vessels